Wellington, FL – January 21, 2021 – Palm Beach Equine registered their first win in their first game of the Ylvisaker Cup at the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) on Thursday. Defeating Tamera 10-7 on the Isla Carroll East field, Palm Beach Equine was led by 6 goals from Costi Caset in his best performance of the season.
After falling short in their bid to lift the Joe Barry Memorial trophy, Palm Beach Equine rode to victory behind a strong defensive effort in the final two chukkers that held Tamera to just one goal. Despite shooting just 31% from the field, Palm Beach Equine generated a consistent offense from the penalty line, receiving nine penalty attempts, including at least one attempt in every chukker. A physical game saw both Gringo Colombres and Luis Escobar sent off with two yellow cards, but it was the 17 fouls committed by Tamera that proved to be the difference as the penalty shooting of Colombres and Caset led Palm Beach Equine to the 10-7 victory.
Palm Beach Equine had a slow start in the opening chukker, failing to record a shot while missing two penalty attempts. Tamera took the 1-0 lead after Diego Cavanagh followed up Lucas Escobar to open the scoring. Receiving two penalty attempts for the second consecutive chukker, Palm Beach Equine began to take advantage of the opportunities, converting both attempts in response to an impressive goal off the mallet of Lucas Escobar, leaving the score tied at 2-2. Palm Beach Equine claimed the lead in the first few minutes of the third chukker after Caset and Colombres scored a goal each from the field. Tamera answered back with two goals of their own, one from the penalty line, but failed to end the half with a tie score after Palm Beach Equine’s Caset was on the receiving end of a beautiful pass from Robi Bilbao for his third goal of the game and a 5-4 advantage.
Palm Beach Equine‘s Robi Bilbao leads the charge and wards off Tamera‘s defense. ©Alex Pacheco
The back-and-forth game carried into the second half, with Palm Beach Equine and Tamera committing two fouls each, one of which left Gringo Colombres with a yellow card. Both teams converted their respective penalty attempts, but Tamera ended the fourth chukker by restoring the tie after a field goal from Lucas Escobar. A second yellow card given to Colombres on a dangerous riding play left Tamera with an extra player and a chance to take the lead, but Palm Beach Equine survived the two minutes and ended the fifth chukker ahead by one goal after their fifth penalty conversion of the game. The intensity of the game carried into the final chukker as Luis Escobar received his second yellow card, creating a difficult situation for Tamera as they were a man down and trailing on the scoreboard. Preventing Tamera from shooting at goal, it was two final goals for Caset that completed a hard-fought 10-7 victory for Palm Beach Equine.
Penalty shooting from Palm Beach Equine‘s Gringo Colombres helped to win the game. ©Alex Pacheco
Polo matches at IPC are not open to the general public except for ticketed Sunday brunch. Online viewing is available with a subscription at globalpolo.com.
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